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THE MISSING LINK Currently, the express lanes on 183A and MoPac are disconnected by a 9-mile stretch on US 183. That will change when the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority constructs two express lanes and one general-purpose lane in each direction as a part of the 183 North project.
express lanes as an important tool to get places faster and often uses the express lanes on MoPac. “The express lanes make a huge di erence because you’re not ght- ing people getting on and o ,” McNabb said. He added that he is optimistic the Mobility Authority will not drasti- cally change his commute along US 183 during the construction project. Diverting business tra c However, some business owners in the region are less enthused about a project that will bring ve years of con- struction and add 9 miles of toll roads. Carla Kirkwood and Deneise Raines have a combined 90 years of experience working in the oral industry. They took over ownership of Flowers Flowers Inc., located near the US 183 and Anderson Mill Road intersection, 18 years ago. The pair worked at the shop during the project that transformed US 183 into a highway in the 1990s and early 2000s and worry the new project could be similarly disruptive for their operation. “Let’s just say this little project is not going to be our friend,” Kirk- wood said. She added that she is concerned about drivers taking alternative routes that would take them away from the Flowers Flowers Inc. storefront. “People are not going to be want- ing to come around here, so they’re going to go and they’ll take Parmer [Lane], and Parmer takes them not by our shop,” Kirkwood said. Ken Le, owner of GalleriaNails, has been in his location for one month, and, like Kirkwood, he expressed skepticism about the need for the
“If they can create something that’s going from [SH 45] to MoPac or [Loop 360] in nine minutes, that’s actually ridiculously awesome,” Garcia said. Those express lanes, which are separated toll lanes that have no cost for public transit, emergency response and military vehicles, will connect 183A Toll to the MoPac express lanes. Eventually, the toll road network will extend from downtown Austin to Liberty Hill, once the 6.6-mile 183A Toll Phase 3 Experts say express lanes are one of the most e ective mechanisms to make roads work better. Michael Manville, a professor of urban plan- ning at UCLA, said he favors tolls because they force drivers to con- sider the time involved and how they make trips. “If you just changed the behavior of a small number of people who might get on that road, the road works a lot better, carries more peo- ple, there’s less congestion and you actually have a high-quality ser- vice,” Manville said. He added that tolls are an e ective way to pay for highways, and the people who bene t from them are the ones who drive on them. “If you charge someone per use, much the same way that we meter water, meter electricity and so forth, the people who are using it pay for it, and that’s how you actually nance this infrastructure,” Manville said. Jay McNabb lives in Cedar Park and works for a sign company, a job that has him travel throughout the Austin area. Like Garcia, he sees the completes in 2025. To pay or not to pay
SOURCE: CENTRAL TEXAS REGIONAL MOBILITY AUTHORITY COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
183A TOLL
businesses MetroRail Station Park & Ride 183 North project KEY
Lakeline Park & Ride
45 TOLL
Flowers Flowers Inc.
Howard Station
Galleria Nails
183
Pavilion Park & Ride
SPICEWOOD SPRINGS RD,
Great Hills Park & Ride
Kramer Station
GREAT HILLS TRL.
MOPAC
360
N
MOPAC
183
express lanes
The 183 North project will connect 183A Toll lanes with MoPac. (Courtesy Je erson Carroll)
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COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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